Kapil wants Team India to aim for convincing win in West Indies

Rahul Dravid’s Team India begins West Indies tour with a warm-up match against Jamaica on Tuesday.

BY A CORRESPONDENT

May 16, 2006: As India begins their Caribbean tour with a warm-up match against Jamaica on Tuesday, legendary fast bowler Kapil Dev has said Team India should not just look for a win, but aim for a convincing win.

And the best all rounder India has seen so far has his own reasons. Kapil says the West Indian team is not at all strong as their predecessors who ruled both versions of cricket in the 1980s.

Kapil said the last time India toured West Indies the team had done well, but lost the series because of a sloppy show in the last Test.

Kapil also drew parallels between the great West Indian team of the 1980s
and the present Australian team, pointing out that both are top class teams and dominate Test as well as One day international cricket.

“The West Indies team of the eighties is like the Australian team of today, winning everything. But this Windies side is weak,” Kapil Dev said at a function to unveil medals for the Rajiv Gandhi Mini-Olympics in
Mumbai.

The former India skipper also hoped that star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will be able to overcome his injuries and play. “Sachin is a very talented batsman. He is struggling a bit now with his injuries,” Kapil said, wishing the star Indian batsman good luck. India plays five ODIs and four Tests in West Indies.

Kapil also backed the view that too much cricket is being played now a days, but said burn-out issue should be dealt by the players individually.

"If the player feels that he is burnt out, then he should take a rest," the 47-year-old Kapil said.